A Virginia state judge on Tuesday struck down a Democrat-led effort to redraw the state’s congressional districts ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, calling the plan “invalid” and a blatant violation of the state’s constitutional procedures.
Tazewell Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley Jr. ruled that Democrats in the General Assembly failed to follow several key requirements when advancing a proposed constitutional amendment that would have authorized a mid-decade redistricting.
Democrats, who gained full control of the Virginia legislature and governor’s office in 2025, had fast-tracked the amendment in a special session earlier this month, seeking to push new maps that would have given them control of 10 of the state’s 11 U.S. House seats — despite the fact that nearly half of Virginians voted for President Donald Trump in 2024.
Hurley’s decision halts the plan entirely and prevents it from appearing on the ballot as a statewide referendum, ensuring that the 2026 elections will proceed under the existing congressional maps drawn after the 2020 Census.
In his ruling, Hurley said the General Assembly’s actions violated procedural rules in three ways: lawmakers failed to include the redistricting amendment in the official agenda for the special session, they did not approve the measure before the previous general election, and they failed to publish the amendment for public notice at least three months before that election — as required under Virginia law.
“The legislature cannot ignore its own constitutional obligations in the name of expediency,” Hurley wrote.
The case was brought by Virginians for Fair Maps, a Republican-backed group led by former Virginia Congressman Eric Cantor, State Sen. Ryan McDougle, and Del. Terry Kilgore, who argued the redistricting maneuver amounted to an illegal power grab.
“The court made clear that elections matter, notice matters, and the rules apply to everyone — even those in power,” the group said in a joint statement after the ruling.
Democrats immediately accused Republicans of “court-shopping,” noting that the suit was filed in heavily conservative Tazewell County.
“Nothing that happened today will dissuade us from continuing to move forward and put this matter directly to the voters,” Democratic leaders said in a joint statement. “Republicans who can’t win at the ballot box are abusing the legal process to block Virginians from voting.”
Democratic leaders had hoped to put the proposed amendment before voters in an April referendum — a move that could have reshaped Virginia’s political landscape and possibly shifted control of the U.S. House of Representatives during President Trump’s second term.
“This was a transparent attempt to rig the system in their favor,” said a Virginia GOP official familiar with the case. “Democrats were trying to rewrite the rules of the game right before the next election. The court did the right thing.”
Democrats now face an uphill battle on appeal. Any successful challenge would need to be decided before Virginia’s 2026 candidate filing deadlines, which typically fall in early spring — a tight window that legal experts say makes it unlikely new maps could be enacted in time for November.
Virginia currently has a 6–5 split delegation, with Democrats holding a narrow edge. The blocked amendment would have shifted that balance dramatically toward Democrats, a move that Republicans said violated the spirit of the state’s bipartisan redistricting reforms adopted in 2021.
The ruling also reverberates beyond Virginia’s borders. In neighboring Maryland, Democratic Gov. Wes Moore and the state legislature are pursuing their own redistricting plan designed to unseat Maryland’s lone Republican congressman.
Political observers say the Virginia court’s decision could complicate similar efforts by Democrats elsewhere, signaling that mid-decade redistricting schemes face steep legal hurdles.
“This ruling reinforces that there are limits to partisan gerrymandering — even in states where one party controls the legislature,” said political analyst Brad Coker. “Democrats overplayed their hand, and the court called them on it.”
Democrats have vowed to appeal Hurley’s ruling to the Virginia Supreme Court, though such a move is unlikely to change the immediate outcome.
For now, Virginia’s congressional districts remain unchanged, and the state’s voters will head into the 2026 midterms under the same map that helped produce one of the most competitive delegations in the country.
